Happy Thanksgiving!

Aside from the meltdown I had at 11 a.m. yesterday morning when everything seemed totally overwhelming and I had no idea whether or not I should make a sweet potato gratin and I couldn't remember if I was supposed to pick up Anne, David and Grandma Jean from the train station or not -- we had a wonderful dinner. Rachel wore her cute penguin dress, tights with snowflakes and black patent-leather shoes and Drew put her hair in "ponies" (ponytails) so that she looked adorable. Anne, David and Jean arrived around 2:30 and Angela, our babysitter, dropped by with boyfriend Tyler at 4, bearing wine, which I got a little sip of before I had to concentrate on making the meal. We sat down at 5:30 and although I thought the turkey was a little dry, David said it was the best he'd had in years. And everyone LOVED the pumpkin-cocoa cake I made with chocolate glaze and peanuts on top. It's the best combination of pumpkin and cocoa I have found and I think I may make it for the festive New Year's even dinner I'm planning.

As he was leaving, Tyler gave me a wonderful compliment. "You have such a lovely house; there's such a good vibe here," he said. "There's so much love." He said he missed his family in Montana and only got home about once a year to see them. I told him he's always welcome to come visit, especially when Drew goes back and I'm feeling lonely again.

Today we relaxed. Drew took Rachel for a rainy walk; they passed a nearby field where some kids were playing soccer and the boys were kind enough to let Rachel kick the ball around for a while. Meanwhile, Anne, David and I tromped all the way to the grocery store and bought rye bread, lettuce, apple juice and other fixings for a great lunch of turkey leftovers. It was freezing rain and awful outside, so I was glad to get home. Drew made a fire, which terrified Rachel but then she sat in his lap during lunch and calmed down. After lunch I sat with my back to the fire to get warm, then took a nap on the floor while Anne, David, Drew and Jean talked and Rachel napped.

I took everyone to the train station at 5. Anne, David and Jean said lovely things about Rachel -- that she is so sweet, so compassionate, and Jean said she's just a wonderful little girl (Rachel would toddle over to Jean with a book and say, "read, please."). I stoppped at the grocery store again for some parsnips and onions for the turkey soup that Drew promised to make, with dumplings, and got home to the great smell of a turkey carcass and chicken stock simmering on the stove. Rachel insisted on helping Drew. (This is a new thing; on Thursday, as she was helping him cut up butter for the turkey, she said, "I'm helping Daddy. Mommy, you happy now?") I read the Times, and then Rachel wanted to read part of the paper, too ("I'm reading about synagogue," she said, to our complete astonishment). We had a nice Shabbat dinner and Drew put Rachel to bed while I cleaned up.

If I have enough energy left we will watch a movie tonight.